Feet On the Ground

I’m reviewing The Truth About You by Marcus Buckingham. You can find most of the information about the book on its <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-You-Secret-Success/dp/1400202264″>Amazon page</a>, but here’s my opinion of it!

The book is inserted in a little case that also holds a customized notepad and a DVD. You watch the DVD, read the book, and then follow the instructions with the notepad over the next couple of weeks. The setup makes it seem more like a mini-course than a book, which I found interesting and innovative. Marcus emphasizes the importance of having a job that plays to your skills and strengths, and explains that the whole process of this “course” is going to help you find what your skills are and shape your job to your skills. The stand-out point for me was his identification of your strengths and weaknesses. Not what you’re “good” or “bad” at, but what makes you feel “strong” and “weak.”

The best part is the DVD. If you can ignore his eyebrows (and even if you can’t), Marcus’s passion is so endearing and makes you really believe what he says. I was excited to begin reading the book, but I felt that the information began to get a bit thin there. Most of it points to the reMemo pad and what you’re supposed to do with that. The information that’s there and the reMemo idea are great, but I don’t believe that there is ENOUGH. Also, I’m not at a good place in my life to do the reMemo program.

Here’s my problem. The program is meant for people who are actively working so that they can report on the way that their activities make them feel. I ordered this book from Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Bloggers program so that I would have this information in hand before I went out looking for a job after graduation. Unfortunately, I’m not really doing enough right now to go through the reMemo process. If you hate your job and are confused about where your strengths lie and what you really want to do, this book would be great. If you’re unemployed after just graduating college…not so much.